Nutrition and Health Sciences, Department of
ORCID IDs
0000-0002-6069-9939
0000-0002-9576-5692
0000-0002-8010-3987
0000-0002-8298-3690
0000-0002-3799-9212
0000-0002-6686-3891
0000-0003-3504-5826
0000-0002-5384-5504
0000-0002-0758-8519
0000-0002-6186-2822
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2019
Citation
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 514
Abstract
Background: This paper describes the development and validation of the Vending Evaluation for Nutrient-Density (VEND)ing audit to comprehensively evaluate vended products based upon healthfulness, price and promotion, and machine accessibility. Methods: A novel vending nutrient-density score was created to determine the healthfulness of vended snack/beverage products. Field tested in United States colleges, VENDing audit (Σnutrient-density + 10 x % healthy products) and Support sub-scores (price + promotion + accessibility) were calculated for snack/beverage machines. Higher scores indicate more healthful vending options and supports for choosing healthfully. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Vending (NEMS-V) was used to validate the nutrient-density score for a sub-sample of machines. Sensitivity and specificity were computed by comparing the number of healthy snacks/beverages determined by NEMS-V and the VENDing nutrient-density scores. Results: Researchers conducted the VENDing audit on 228 snack/beverage vending machines at 9 universities within the United States and used both VENDing and NEMS-V on 33 snack and 52 beverage vending machines. Mean VENDing audit scores were 4.5 ± 2.0 (2.6, 3.4) and 2.6 ± 2.0 (0, 12) for snack/beverage machines, respectively. The number of products considered healthy assessed with both the VENDing nutrient-density scores and the NEMS-V were positively correlated for beverages (r = 0.687, p < 0.001) and snacks (r = 0.366, p < 0.05). The sensitivity was excellent for beverages (0.83) and moderate for snacks (0.69); while the specificity was moderate for both beverages (0.66) and snacks (0.50). Conclusions: The VENDing audit uses unique, valid, and
Included in
Human and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Molecular, Genetic, and Biochemical Nutrition Commons, Other Nutrition Commons
Comments
© 2019 by the authors.
Open access
doi:10.3390/ijerph16030514